December 06, 2010

Emanuel's renter drops mayoral bid

The businessman renting Rahm Emanuel's house withdrew from the Chicago mayor's race today just hours before a hearing to decide whether he could be on the ballot.

Rob Halpin issued a statement saying "the realities of entering the race at this relatively late stage, including the financial and legal hurdles I’d have to leap in order to win, have forced me to reassess my intention to run at this time."

Halpin's impromptu candidacy had been in doubt all along and became more questionable after disclosures about the legitimacy of his candidacy petitions. Election law requires 12,500 valid signatures of Chicago voters to get on the ballot.

Halpin submitted about 17,000, but the Tribune reported last week that a number of people allegedly involved in the signature-gathering process said their names were used without their knowledge.

Election lawyer Burt Odelson met with Halpin over the weekend to go over Halpin's witness testimony for a hearing challenging Emanuel's residency. It was then that Halpin asked him to file the paperwork withdrawing his mayoral candidacy, Odelson said.

"I was thrilled to death," Odelson said, adding that he didn't talk Halpin out of running. "I encouraged him not to run. After he said he was, I left him alone. He went on his own and hired his own people. I didn't want anything to do with it."

Odelson said he is not representing Halpin, because he is the lawyer for state Sen. James Meeks, who also is running for mayor.

Halpin said he has no plans to endorse or "work against" any candidate. Political observers had speculated that Halpin got into the race to bolster efforts of Emanuel's political opponents.

Emanuel faces a ballot challenge claiming that he does not meet the residency requirements of living in Chicago for a year before the election because the former White House chief of staff had rented his home to Halpin. The Chicago businessman first made news this fall when he declined Emanuel's request to end his lease early so Emanuel could move back in.

Halpin, a 59-year-old industrial developer, has become a thorn in Emanuel's side after refusing to vacate the Ravenswood home that Emanuel leased to him when he left for Washington in 2009.

Halpin's continued presence in the home has added fuel to challenges to Emanuel's bid to succeed Mayor Richard Daley, with critics contending Emanuel isn't eligible to run because he has not been living in Chicago for the last year.

Election attorney Burt Odelson, who filed a challenge to knock off Emanuel, has acknowledged he went over Halpin's paperwork to make sure it was in order before Halpin filed for mayor.

A schedule was set at today's hearing on challenges to knock Emanuel off the Feb. 22 ballot.

Witnesses will be called, likely including Emanuel, starting Monday. His tenant and short-lived mayoral rival Halpin, also is expected to appear as a witness. Other evidence and documents also will be presented next week.

The hearing officer consolidated all of the Emanuel cases together over the Odelson's objection.

"I think it's going to turn into a little bit of a circus," Odelson said, later acknowledging that it already had a big-tent feel with more than 30 people objecting to Emanuel's candidacy. "I want to do my case and go."

UPDATED at 11:55 a.m. by John Chase and Kristen Mack with three candidates removed from ballot.

M. Tricia Lee, Jay Stone and Ryan Graves will be removed from the ballot, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners voted. Lee was second on the ballot, so that would mean Rahm Emanuel would move to the second position behind U.S. Rep Danny Davis if Emanuel successfully fends off objections to his own candidacy.

All three candidates can try to get the board to reconsider its vote. For Lee and Stone, the board determined they hadn't filed enough of the 12,500 signatures needed. Lee had 700 and Stone 246. Graves had duplicate signatures in his packet, the board ruled.

A fourth mayoral contender, Tommy Hanson, has to come up with a valid copy of the statement of economic interest he said he filed by the Feb. 22 deadline or he too might be removed, the board ruled.

Originally posted by Kristen Mack at 7 a.m.

A hearing is scheduled to take place this morning on the slew of challenges attempting to knock former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel off the Chicago mayoral ballot.

The Chicago Board of Elections has set an 11 a.m. hearing to be presided over by Joseph A. Morris, an attorney who once unsuccessfully ran for Cook County Board president as a Republican.

"We look for people with a good working knowledge of the election code, who have no possible conflicts and who, most importantly, can conduct a fair and impartial hearing," said Jim Allen, an elections board spokesman. "Mr. Morris fits all those qualifications."

The objections to Emanuel's candidacy largely center around whether he meets the residency requirements. Emanuel says he meets the standard because he owns a home here, has voted here and always intended to move back from Washington. Election law attorney Burt Odelson, who filed the major ballot challenge says the fact that Emanuel rented out his home, instead of leaving it empty, means he’s not a resident.

Morris, the hearing officer, will make a recommendation to the city elections board, which will rule on the various attempts to knock Emanuel off the Feb. 22 ballot.

The elections board today also will begin the process of hearing the more than 300 additional objections lodged against 19 other mayoral candidates and dozens of aldermanic candidates.

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

Past posts

Clout has a special meaning in Chicago, where it can be a noun, a verb or an adjective. This exercise of political influence in a uniquely Chicago style was chronicled in the Tribune cartoon "Clout Street" in the early 1980s. Clout Street, the blog, offers an inside look at the politics practiced from Chicago's City Hall to the Statehouse in Springfield, through the eyes of the Tribune's political and government reporters.